Bruins Must Rebound, Again

The opening game of the Stanley Cup last night was simply exhilarating, that is until Johnny Boychuk made yet another unwise pinch resulting in a goal, costing the Boston Bruins the game.  Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks made a spectacular move to chip the puck to himself at the blue line, resulting in a bang-bang play that gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead with just 18.5 seconds left in regulation.  The story of the night, though, was the goalies.  Boston’s Tim Thomas was spectacular, stopping several breakaways and second chance opportunities.  Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo wasn’t as flashy, but played stone cold and allowed very few second chances for the Bruins.

The Bruins have been a rebounding team all year.  It goes back to last season when they dropped four in a row to the Philadelphia Flyers after holding a 3-0 series lead.  Taking positives out of a negative situation is a great mantra in sports, and in life as well.  The Bruins didn’t hang their heads after going down 2-0 to Montreal in the first round.  They took positives out of the Game 6 loss to Tampa Bay and played spectacularly in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

There has been constant talk of the Bruins not converting on their powerplay chances, yet coach Claude Julien sounded pleased with the way the man-up unit played last night even though they were 0-6.  I thought Tomas Kaberle and Dennis Seidenberg gelled with each other on the point and with aid of David Krejci set up some great chances.  But I’d like to see Boston stick to its guns – put Milan Lucic in front of the net and let Zdeno Chara boom his Guinness Book of World Records slapshot from up top.  The Canucks powerplay is supposed to be their advantage in this series, but they did not convert last night either, not even on a 5-on-3.  It was a tough break loss, but that’s all it was.  Tip your cap to Kesler and move on. 

The big advantage Boston has been able to have over teams this year is in the physical game.  Guy Boucher knew that and in several of those games the Lightning held a physical edge over the Bruins.  I’m sure the Canucks know that too, but it isn’t their game.  Dan Hamhuis’ hipcheck on Lucic was highlight reel worthy, but he also took himself out of the game by doing it.  Alex Burrows let his frustrations get the best of him and bit Patrice Bergeron’s finger.  As I write this article, no word has come down from the league but in all likelihood he will be suspended for Game 2.  He denies that he did it, but the tape doesn’t lie.  Nor did Bergeron’s bleeding finger.  Also, if he didn’t do it, why did he receive an extra roughing minor?

I’ve said all year that the Bruins are built to wear teams down.  That’s what they did to Montreal and Tampa Bay.  Remember how unbeatable Carey Price looked?  This team has been finding a way to win and that’s as valuable as any other comparison to make.  It should be a long and hard fought series.   In my opinion, the Bruins played fairly sloppy last night and it still took an incredible play for Vancouver to get a goal.  Game 2 might be the most important of the series for Boston and I think they know that.

***UPDATE***
The NHL will not suspend Alex Burrows for the biting incident involving Patrice Bergeron.  You can find the announcement here.  This is another, albeit much smaller, tough break for Boston fans. I said before that the tape doesn't lie, but apparently the video evidence does not show intent.  How do you accidentally bite someone?  It still begs the question as to why the referees assigned an additional minor to Burrows after the play, as well.

***UPDATE***
Last night's game was the highest rated Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs since 1999 when the Buffalo Sabres matched up against the Dallas Stars.  Keep watching people!  And kudos to the New England market for supporting our beloved Bruins - this may just be the influence we need to have more hockey coverage on network television.  That being said, be forewarned, Games 3 and 4 of this Cup will be on god-damned cable.  Article.